Just got back from out of the country and found out my favorite Hobie Dealer is not a Hobie Dealer. Called Mikey at Surf City Catamarans for some pricing info and found out he didn't get a Hobie License after buying a retail store to run it out of.

They are at almost every regatta and have done so much including sponsoring regattas. Now Hobie doesn't want them as a dealer? WOW Who ever made that decision wasn't thinking.

Dealers have many obligations. One is a retail location. Another is a stocking order. Also, proximity to other dealers and I'm sure there are many other issues considered by our sales department including regular hours, service, quality of location, display fixtures etc. You can't simply be a racing enthusiast to make this work. We don't allow garage, internet only and other businesses that are not fully committed to the brand.

I'm sure there is a lot going on there I don't know about. However when after 2 years of him looking for a retail location and finally getting one in the same area as the original Surf City Catamarans I was shocked to find out his business was denied.

After everything they have done for the Racing community here in Hobie Division 3 it was a shock. It's always nice when your Hobie dealer is at all the races with parts and knowledge to help you fix what ever you need. They even came 5 hours to deliver and help replace a part on my Tiger and sail with us for the weekend to make sure we were ready for the worlds. Show me that customer service with any other dealer.

Trouble is after purchasing the lease on the building to be a retail site then they pulled the plug on him. Guess someone didn't want any other choices in the area.(that is just a rumor I heard) Sad really to find out when you call to price out a new boat and find out you can't order it.

Hi All We are not at this time an authorized Hobie dealer, We hope that Hobie Cat will see the value that Surf City Catamarans can add to them as and authorized Hobie Dealer. We do have and will have a full service retail store in the Santa Cruz Harbor, Which is Surf City Catamarans, for catamarans, and accessories, Faye and I are there most everyday when not sailing at regattas. Our normal Business hours are posted on the door. This summer we will have additional help on staff when we are not available. We are still moving forward in the sailing community with our passion for sailing. We will continue to support our Reggatt's and Fleets.We strongly support our love for sailing which is the "Hobie way of life" in our opinion. We hope that you all will support your local Hobie dealers. Hobie has not at this point told us that we will not get the Hobie Dealership for the Fiberglass and Rotomill boat products! What they have shared with us that they are looking for their best option. We hope that Hobie will continue to see us as friends. We are looking forward to seeing everyone and having a great sailing season this year. mikey@surfcitycatamaran.com

I know Mike bailed me out with a jib traveller car at the N.A.'s in FWB.Jeremy seems like a cool guy who really promotes this crazy sport.Also one of the few guys that supported me on the Carbon Fiber Tiller issue. Hope all works out well for both of you.

I might very well be speaking out of place here (as I am often inclined to do )

But it seems a little strange to place a priority on a storefront over that of someone who is on the water actively enjoying and promoting the sport.

I understand there are plenty of variables within that..

But for a company who started selling surfboards.. Generally speaking I would think a bunch of hip guys selling parts out of a cool van on the beach would be better for the 'image' than maintaining a storefront in some warehouse district...

(especially when (it appears) you only have a handful of dealers dominating internet sales)

(especially when (it appears) you only have a handful of dealers dominating internet sales)

Just a few notes...

We have over 400 dealers in the US. We do not encourage internet sales outside a dealers own area. Where could you go to actually see a boat? You need hands on and demo possibilities. You need to have lights on in a store and normal operating hours to attract new business. Dealers need to be committed to selling boats, not just parts, so we do not take on dealers as parts sale or internet only.

We also try not to overlap dealers in a region. We have only one Hobie Cat dealer in Southern California (Fast Lane San Diego). There are two Cat dealers in the SF bay region (Santa Rosa and Sacramento). Wind Toys has been trying to get permits for a location to open in Sausalito.

These Hobie dealers all serve the area within 150 miles (of Oakland) now:

We have over 400 dealers in the US. We do not encourage internet sales outside a dealers own area.

Huh? Don't mean to hijack the thread, but how about Hobie kayaks? I am specifically referring to U.S. Hobie dealers trying to compete with internet sales from Austin. They charge $149 to ship and local dealers have to charge state and local sales taxes.

It's not like this is a new thing. There has been a Hobie Authorized dealer in Santa Cruz for as long as I can remember. Surf City Catamarans, O'Neill's Ect.

I understand John wants to expand to Sausilito however Santa cruz also feeds down to Fresno and some in Fleet 259 further south.

Guess it's time for me to leave this topic alone. Mikey I appoligise if this thread caused you ant problems. Matt and all those at Hobie Thanks for taking the time to listen to my thoughts on the issue.

Huh? Don't mean to hijack the thread, but how about Hobie kayaks? I am specifically referring to U.S. Hobie dealers trying to compete with internet sales from Austin. They charge $149 to ship and local dealers have to charge state and local sales taxes.

ronholm wrote:

I wouldn't make it as a Hobie dealer because I would be 'breaking rules" all the time hoping you would look the other way as my sales increased.

We do what we can to protect dealers from outside interference by having some "rules". This helps to keep the lights on in your local dealership. If we had no controls at all we "might" see a spike in sales... then there would be a big drop in actual dealers. We have seen that scenario play out in far to many other businesses.

To me it would be fairer for local dealers to have Mega internet sellers like Austin be required to charge a flat 10% shipping on Hobie kayaks, instead of $149. This would level the field with dealers having to collect sales taxes, which range from 7 to 10% and up.

mmiller wrote:

dregsfan wrote:

Huh? Don't mean to hijack the thread, but how about Hobie kayaks? I am specifically referring to U.S. Hobie dealers trying to compete with internet sales from Austin. They charge $149 to ship and local dealers have to charge state and local sales taxes.

ronholm wrote:

I wouldn't make it as a Hobie dealer because I would be 'breaking rules" all the time hoping you would look the other way as my sales increased.

We do what we can to protect dealers from outside interference by having some "rules". This helps to keep the lights on in your local dealership. If we had no controls at all we "might" see a spike in sales... then there would be a big drop in actual dealers. We have seen that scenario play out in far to many other businesses.